Method of manufacturing tires.



w. L. MITTEN. 7 METHOD OF MANUFACTURING TIRES.

APPLICATION FILED NOV- I2, I91! 1 302,405. I Patented pr. 29, I919 mm; Willing M WOETH I1. MI'LTEN, OF DAVENPORT, IOWA.

METHOD OF MANUFACTURING TIRES.

Specification of Letters Patent Patented. Apr. 29, 1919.

Application fi1ed November 12. 1917. Serial'No. 201,561.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, WORTH L. Mlr'rnn, a citizen of the United States, resldlng at Davenport, in the county of Scott and State of Iowa, have im'ented certnm new and useful Improvements in Methods of Manufacturin 1 Tires, of which the following 1s A speci lent-ion.

It is an. object of this inwantion to increase the efiieieuoy end strength of what are known as cord. tires".

Among other objects and ndvantages 1s purpose of the intention to emtble the ter- :ttlon of s, cord tire casing of n lnglilly hc-ient (:httrncter in an mslve me:

it is 2 pnrii-ieulnr aim to obviem the sitjy' for Wearing the eorrl, "Eel 0?- mandrel and. to permit rapid prodnotlmr the cord carcass from prepared sheeting having cords placed therein and adapted to be produced by extremely simple mat-1th ode,

In the drawings forming part of this up pliestion,

Figure 1 is a plan. of s blzmlt for use 1n. the

assembly of the carcass.

' Fig. 72 is a, similar View of another blank, Fig 3 e, eross section oi": the blank; Fig 4 is a top view the mendrel, Wlth blanks in the first stege'ef assen'lbly 5 is a oross set not and 1llustrstit n of the seem. s e o. a Hembly Fi 6 is a View sinulur "to Fig l. sl'rowmg the t ircl stage in one form of tire,

Fig. 'l' is a cross section Fig. 8 is a. View similar to F g. 6 showmg t tire with. three ply cord fabric. Fig. 9 is :1 cross section thereot Fig. 10 is a detail of the manclvel.

In the manufacture of my tire, I employ a mandrel or ring more 10, which may cor respond, to the usual. ring core employed in tire menufaeture, and may be mounted upon the ordinal spider, or in any other manner desired. I prefer, however to form the mandrel with means for expanding it, and at present employ a mandrel comprising" a rigld inner ring 11, and an QXIJttIlSllJlG outer section 12 adapted to fit snugly therearound in one position, and to be expended by in eons of screws 13 projecting fromthe 1nner side of the ring 11, when required. The Xlgld ring 11 is provided with the usual bead groove 14 at the srdes, and dBVlCBS lf'rof any suitable form are rovided for holdmgtlm beads in plane 2-": en positioned upon the mandrel,

For the produvtion of my tire I prepare a fIlCl'lOIl tafbrlc in which, instead of a woven cloth, there are embedded merely parallelstrzmds or cords 16 of suitablev strength and structure of which there are various forms available in the art for snob uses-the "fabric being prepared in large sheets and -nt into blanks 16* or 16, as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, these blanks having the form of a short length of ribbon several inches wide for ordinary sizes of tires and having a length sufiioient to extend over the nmndn-l from one side to the other and to lmw its en jls turned bzmkwrni'dly m r the intnrrno diets portions u 'enter or l1 listnnce at "lg to the el'nunoter of t e which. it is to procluru The omls of the blank are out diagonally shown at 117, and the cords may run lOl'lgll'lltll'llitlly of the blank as shown in S2, or diagonally, parallel to the diagonal end edges, show in Fig. l though it may be found desirableto have the cords exteml at some other angle to the axis of the blank, and it may also be found desirable to form the! blanks in a different shape, in the development of the invention. The rubber of the fabric may be puregum, or such other gc 'repnrnstion of rubber or other suitable material es found most desirable in abundance "with the practises of the art.

In producing a. carcass in accordance with my invention, a suitable number of blanks 16 or 16 having been prepared, they are laid diagonally across the mandrel, as shown in Fig. 4, without overlap, but with edges snugly abutting. The diagonalencledges 17 are parallel. to the plane of the mandrel when v the strips are held outwardly as indicated in the drawing. The mandrel having been completely eovertxl in this way, the loose ends of the strips being allowed to hang free or otherwise disposed so as to not interfere with the operations described and to be described, the bead ring 18 is adjusted in the groove 14: at each side and the seouringdevices 15 put into position after the loose ends of the blanks are lifted and laid loosely upon the outer part of tho (-aroass. If d0 sired, a suitable cement may then be applied to the outer surfaces of the intermeclie-te portions of the blanks where they extend around the nmndlel, and to the upper side of the extended end portions, and these are then laid inwardly and snuglytugm'nst to put all of the cords in the blanks 16 under an even tension, the mandrel preferably having its extended position the size which it is desired the finished carcass shall have upon the interior. The ends of the blanks are trimmed so as to meet snugly at the middle of the carcass on the outside as shown in Fig. 6, in case it is desired that the mandrel shall have a two-ply thickness. The parts having been secured in position suitably atthis stage of the Work, for which purpose any desirableprocess may be employed, in accordance With the practices of the art, the carcass may be removed from the mandrel, and is then preferably turned or inverted, bringing the underside on top so that the meeting ends of the blanks are located upon the inner side of the carcass. The exterior. covering of the casing, breaker strip and tread may be then applied in any usual way in accordance with any of the well known practices in the art, and the the otherwise finished according to the type to be produced.

It is possible by my method to construct a. carcass with a three ply cord body by forming the blanks of fabric long enough to permit each end portion, after the blank is laid with its central portion around the mandrel and engaged under the head, to extend over the intermediate portion of the blank to the opposite side of the mandrel, as indicated in Figs. 8- and 9, first the end portions at one side being laid over in this Way and extended close to the head, as indicated at 20, in Fig.- 8, and the end portions from the opposite side being brought over likewise as indicated at 21, the parts being secured together suitably and all air expressed as far as possible. The carcass after the building operation described may be partly cured if desired, or the breaker strip and thread portions built up thereon and one cure e1nployed for the complete tire, as preferred. In the last described form of the carcass, after the building up operation as illustrated in Fig. 8, and proper securement of the parts in built up relation, the carcass may be inverted, to bring the under side.

on top, as with the first described form of the carcass, or it may be left as built. It is preferablymy practice, after the formation of the carcass as described, .to mount the same upon a rim over an air bag inflated to a desirable pressure, while the breaker strip,

- tread and finish are assembled thereon. By

turning or inverting the casing as above descrlbed, the flap ends are brou ht inside, and the full length cords are broug t to the outer surface, so as to prevent the tire from blow ing up or breaking loose under strain.

In this way, it, has been found practicable to make a cord tire of evenly wound cords Without the necwsity of Weaving a lengthy cord upon the carcass, the long overlap in the fabric blanks serving to effect secure retention of the structure element in the car cass in proper relation without liability of disintegration through friction. This accords with the discovery made in the American art that stitching of overlapped fabric or other positive securement of the fiber parts is not required, Where a good overlap is made and a good quality of uniting rubber employed.

What is claimed:

1. The method of constructing-a pneumatic tire casing, base or carcass, consisting in forminga fabric of parallel evenly wound cords; forming from said fabric a multiplicity of comparatively short and narrow blanks with the cords extending longitudi nally thereof; laying these successivelv across the periphery of a mandrel with the cords extending from side to side, with the major dimension of the blank extending diagonally with respect to the medial plane of the mandrel fitting bead elements over the intermediate end portions; mechanically expanding the mandrel; folding in the end portions of the blanks snugly around the bead elements and upon the intermediate parts of the blanks; removing the carcass from the mandrel and turning the under side on top and applying tread rubber.

2. The methodof constructing a pneumatic tire casing, base or carcass, consisting in forming a fabric of parallel cords; forming from said fabric a multiplicity of comparatively short and narrow blanks; laying these successively across the periphery of a mandrel With the cords extending from side to side; fitting bead elements over the intermediate end portions; folding in the end portions of the said blanks snugly around the bead elements and upon the intermediate parts of. the blanks; removing the carcass from the mandrel; turnin the under side on top; and applying ru her to the tire diate portions to give the desired number of plies; fitting bead elements over the intermed ate end portions; folding in the end portions of the blanks snugly around the bead elements and upon the/intennediate parts of the blanks; expanding the mandrel,

" short and narrow removing the carcass from the turnin the under side on top.

4. T e method of constructing a pneumatic tire casing, base or carcass, consisting informin a fabric of rubber or the like having parafiel cords' therein; forming from said fabric a multiplicity of comparatively blanks; laying these sue-- cessively across the periphery of an annular ythe blanks-beingof a mandrel with the to side, with the blank extending dia onally with respect to the medial plane 0 the mandrel; fitting elements over the intermediate end portions; folding inthe end portions of said blanks snugly around the bead elements and upon the intermediate arts of the blanks,

cords extending from side their ends to overlap to provide a three-ply cord fabric over the middle part of the carcass; and turning the comp eted carcass to brin the under side on top.

fi lhe method of constructing a pneumandrel and major dimension of the ength' suflicient for 'or rubber; preparing a multiplicity of ort narrow strips therefrom with the cords ex tending longitudinally of the strips; lazing these strips successively across the perip of a u'iandrebwith the cords extending from side to side, with the major dimension of the blank extending diagonally with respect to the/medial plane of themandrel; suitably securin the strips the desired overlapping re ation to provide the desired number of plies of fabric across the tread; inverting the casing so that the underside will come on top; suitably expanding the inverted casing; and a and finish, su *tantially as set forth.

In testimon whereof I have aflixed my signature in t e WORTH L. MITTEN. Witnesses:

JosnPH A. CONNOLLY, HENRY L. DOLAN.

plying the breaker strip, trend presence of two witnesses. 

